The impact of pain on the patient with cancer

✍ Scribed by Charles S. Cleeland

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 806 KB
• Volume: 54
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19841201)54:2+<2635::aid-cncr2820541407>3.0.co;2-p

✦ Synopsis

Pain is one of the most feared consequences of cancer. Until recently, however, little has been known about its prevalence, severity, and impact on the patient with cancer. The presence of pain, despite efforts to treat it, represents a continued source of frustration for patients, their families, and the health care team. Although often one of the early indicators of the presence of disease, pain is not a significant problem for the majority of patients in the early stages of disease, with 5% to 10% of patients with solid tumors reporting pain a t a level that interferes with mood and activity. But when meastatic disease is present, about one in three patients reports significant pain, and our data and those of others indicate that the majority of patients with end-stage disease will report pain of a severity that interferes with several aspects of the patient's quality of life. Site of tumor is also significantly related to the progression of pain. The relationship between pain intensity and depression and anxiety is examined in detail, and the treatment implications of this relationship discussed.